University of Bath Harvard Referencing

To cite a journal article in the University of Bath Harvard style, list the author's surname and initials, year of publication, title of the article (not italicised), the journal title in italics, volume number, issue number in brackets, and page numbers.

The format varies depending on whether you accessed a print article, a PDF copy of a print article, or an online-only electronic article. For print and PDF copies of print journals, no URL is required. For electronic-only articles, add [Online] after the journal title, include the URL, and add an accessed date. This distinction is unique to Bath and Harvard, and often confuses students who are used to always adding URLs for online sources.

To cite a website in the University of Bath Harvard style, write the author's surname and initials (or organisation name), year, title in italics, followed by [Online], place of publication, publisher, URL, and the date you accessed the page.

Website citations carry [Online] in square brackets immediately after the italicised title. This signals to readers that the source exists only on the web. If no individual author is named, the organisation acts as the author. If neither is available, the title moves to the author position.

To cite a book in the University of Bath Harvard style, provide the author's surname and initials, year of publication, title in italics, edition (if not the first), place of publication, and publisher.

Books are the most straightforward source type to cite in the Bath Harvard. The edition is included only when it is not the first edition. Place of publication precedes the publisher name, separated by a colon. Corporate or institutional authors (such as the Open University) replace an individual author when no named person is identified.

To cite in text in the University of Bath Harvard style, place the author's surname and year of publication in brackets within your sentence, for example (Smith, 2020).

In-text citations point the reader to the full reference in your reference list. They are placed at the end of the sentence or clause where you have used the information. For direct quotations, you must add the page number, for example, (Smith, 2020, p.45). When you name the author in your sentence, only the year goes in brackets: "Smith (2020) argues that..."

To cite a chapter in an edited book in the University of Bath Harvard style, give the chapter author's details first, then the year, chapter title (not in italics), the word In:, the editor's initials and surname followed by ed. or eds, the book title in italics, place of publication, publisher, and page range.

This format is used specifically when a book contains chapters written by different authors and compiled by one or more editors. This differs from citing a whole book, because you are attributing a specific intellectual contribution to the chapter author, not the editor. The page range for the chapter must always be included.

To cite a PDF in the University of Bath Harvard style, the format depends entirely on what the PDF represents: if it is a PDF copy of a print journal article, use the standard journal article format; if it is a PDF copy of a print book, use the book format.

This is a distinctive feature of Bath Harvard. The key question is not "how did I access it?" but "what type of document is this?" A PDF is merely a delivery format. Bath's guide is explicit that you should only use the electronic/online format when you genuinely cannot determine whether the article is a PDF copy from a print source. For most academic PDFs downloaded from databases like JSTOR or institutional repositories, you can safely use the print format.

To cite multiple authors in the University of Bath Harvard style, list all authors in the reference list regardless of number, but in in-text citations, use et al. (in italics) when there are four or more authors.

Bath Harvard requires you to list every author in the full reference, no matter how many there are. This is unlike some other styles that truncate author lists in references. However, in the in-text citation, once you have four or more authors, you write only the first author's surname followed by et al. to keep the text readable.

To cite a report in the University of Bath Harvard style, write the author or organisation, year, title in italics, report number in brackets (if given), place of publication, and publisher.

Reports include research reports, company reports, government reports, annual reports, working papers, and research briefings. Bath Harvard treats them consistently: the report or working paper number, if present, appears in round brackets immediately after the italicised title. This reference type is heavily used in engineering, management, public policy, and social science research.

To cite a news article in the University of Bath Harvard style, use the author's surname and initials, year, article title, newspaper title in italics, and for online articles add [Online], the date of publication, the URL, and an accessed date.

For print newspaper articles, the format includes the day and month of publication and page number with column letter (e.g., p.16c). Online news articles do not carry page numbers. Instead, they require a URL and an access date. This distinction matters because print and online versions of the same article can differ in content, editing, or completeness.

To cite a direct quote in the University of Bath Harvard style, include the author's surname, year, and page number in your in-text citation, formatted as (Author, Year, p.X) or (Author, Year, pp.X-X) for a page range.

A direct quotation reproduces the author's exact words. Bath Harvard requires a page number for direct quotes so that readers can locate the precise passage. This requirement applies to print sources and page-numbered PDFs. For online sources that carry no page numbers, you may use a paragraph number (para. 3) or a section heading instead.

To cite a thesis or dissertation in the University of Bath Harvard style, write the author's surname and initials, year, title in italics, the word Thesis or Dissertation and degree type in brackets, and the name of the awarding institution.

These are primary research documents and are frequently cited in literature reviews and research proposals. Bath Harvard uses a simple format that identifies the thesis type clearly. The degree designation appears in brackets immediately after the title, for example, Thesis (Ph.D.) or Thesis (M.A.). Theses held in online repositories such as EThOS or the University of Bath's OPUS may have URLs added to the reference.

To cite a YouTube video in the University of Bath Harvard style, write the creator's surname and initials (or the channel name if no individual is named), year the video was posted, title in italics followed by [Online], and the full YouTube URL with an accessed date.

YouTube sits within Bath's Online video/audio category alongside TED Talks and other streaming content. The key attribute is that it was posted online and cannot be treated as a broadcast. The title is italicised and [Online] signals its digital nature. If the uploader is an organisation rather than an individual, the organisation's name functions as the creator.

To cite a film, DVD, or video in University of Bath Harvard style, write the film title in italics, year of release, the word Film or relevant medium designation, Directed by, and the director's full name, and the production country and organisation.

Video references in Bath Harvard place the title first because films are best known by their title, not by the director. This is a notable departure from the author-first rule that applies to most other source types. For videos streamed online, [Online] is added after the title and Available from: with the streaming service name is added at the end.

To cite an image in the University of Bath Harvard style, use the format appropriate to where the image appears: if the image is from a book, use the book format and add the page number; if it is from a website, use the website format.

Images cover graphs, diagrams, designs, illustrations, and photographs. Bath Harvard does not have a separate image template. Instead, the source container determines the format. This approach requires you to identify whether you found the image in a physical publication or online, and then apply the correct template accordingly. When you reproduce an image directly in your work, you should also include a figure caption below it that cites the source.

To cite a lecture or lecture handout in the University of Bath Harvard style, treat it as unpublished written material: write the author's surname and initials, year, title in italics, institution name if known, and the word Unpublished.

Lectures and handouts are classified as unpublished sources because they are not formally published for general distribution. Bath Harvard treats them as internal, non-retrievable documents. If the lecture slides have been posted on a public website or a module's public Moodle page, they may be treated as an online document. However, if they are restricted to enrolled students only, they remain unpublished.

To cite UK legislation in University of Bath Harvard style, write the title of the Act in italics along with the year, the chapter number, place of publication, and publisher; for online versions, add [Online] after the title, the URL, and an accessed date.

Bath Harvard follows the standard legal convention for UK Acts of Parliament from 1963 onwards. Before 1963, the regnal year system was used (the number of years since the monarch's accession). Statutory instruments follow a slightly different format, listing the SI number and using the legislation.gov.uk URL for online access.

To cite a conference paper in the University of Bath Harvard style, write the paper author's surname and initials, year, paper title (not italicised), the word In: followed by the editor's details and ed. or eds, the conference proceedings title in italics, the full date and location of the conference, place of publication, publisher, and page range.

If the proceedings have no named editor or form part of a major series, the editor section is omitted, and the proceedings title appears directly after In:. Bath Harvard requires the full date of the conference and its physical location, which distinguishes this format from a book chapter citation. Conference papers are common sources in engineering, computer science, and the natural sciences.

To cite a podcast in the University of Bath Harvard style, use the same format as online video and audio: write the creator's surname and initials, year posted, title in italics, followed by [Online], and the URL with an accessed date.

Podcasts fall within Bath Harvard's Online video/audio category. The creator is typically the host or the production company. If a specific episode has its own title, use that as the title in the reference. Podcasts are increasingly cited in media studies, business, public health, and social science research.

To cite a dictionary or reference book in the University of Bath Harvard style, use the book title in place of the author since these works are best known by their title; then provide year, edition, the specific entry title in italics, place of publication, publisher, and page numbers for print versions.

Dictionaries and encyclopaedias are treated as books known by their title in Bath, Harvard. If you are citing a specific entry, you add the entry title in italics after the edition information. For online reference works, you omit page numbers and add a URL and access date instead.

To cite an e-book in the University of Bath Harvard style, if the e-book is a PDF copy of the equivalent print book, use the standard book format; if it is an online e-book accessed via a platform, write the author, year, title, followed by [Online], edition, place of publication, publisher, URL, and accessed date.

Bath Harvard applies the same logic to e-books as to PDFs: the format depends on the nature of the document, not the medium of access. An e-book read on a Kindle, accessed via a library platform, or hosted on a publisher's website requires the [Online] format. This distinction means that two students who read the same book may use slightly different reference formats depending on how they accessed it.

To cite a social media post in the University of Bath Harvard style, write the creator's surname and initials (or the organisational account name), their handle in square brackets if known, year posted, the platform post type in italics (e.g., Facebook post, Twitter post) followed by [Online], the day and month posted, the URL, and an accessed date.

Social media posts are treated as citable sources when they contain original statements, announcements, or data relevant to your argument. The platform post descriptor (such as a Twitter post or an Instagram post) replaces a conventional title and is italicised. This referencing type is increasingly relevant in social science, media studies, and communications research.

To cite a GOV.UK source in University of Bath, Harvard style, use the name of the relevant government department as the author, followed by the year, title in italics with [Online], place of publication, publisher, URL, and accessed date.

GOV.UK sources include government white papers, policy documents, statistical releases, and departmental guidance. Bath Harvard treats them as government and parliamentary documents. For online versions, [Online] is added after the title, and a full URL and access date are required. Great Britain. The prefix and department name are used as the author, which is consistent with how Bath handles all UK government publications.

To cite AI-generated content in the University of Bath Harvard style, the method depends on whether the content is retrievable: if it can be accessed via a shareable link, cite it as a website using the standard web format; if it cannot be retrieved by others, acknowledge it as a personal communication in-text only.

Bath Library distinguishes clearly between using AI to assist your work (editing, proofreading, summarising) and using AI to generate content that appears in your work. The former requires only an acknowledgements statement. The latter requires a full citation if retrievable, or a personal communication citation if not. This is a genuinely distinct approach that Bath developed in response to the rapid growth of generative AI in academic contexts.

To cite a website with no named author in the University of Bath Harvard style, use the name of the organisation responsible for the website in the author position; if no organisation can be identified, move the title to the author position.

The absence of a named author is common with websites, but Bath Harvard does not allow a blank author field. The organisation that owns or publishes the website takes priority as author. Only when neither a person nor an organisation can be identified does the title shift to the author position. This affects both the reference and the in-text citation: you will cite (Organisation, Year) rather than an individual's name.

To cite personal communication in University of Bath Harvard style, include an in-text citation only, using the format (Firstname Lastname (pers. comm.) Day Month Year); do not include personal communications in your reference list because they are not retrievable sources.

Personal communications include emails, letters, telephone conversations, interviews, and face-to-face discussions. Bath Harvard is explicit: because another reader cannot access these sources, they appear only in the body of your text as a citation and never in the reference list. This also applies to non-retrievable AI-generated content, as Bath has extended the personal communication convention to cover tools like ChatGPT, where a shareable link is not available.